Satires are ruled by Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.  They poke fun at the ironies of life, exaggerate faults and weaknesses and tongue in cheek, turn tragedy into laughter. At times they take the form of spoofs like Scary Movie or the Austin Powers series, but the really good satires play like a drama, serious to the characters while the audience is left chuckling in disbelief as each relates their own experiences during his or her journey of life.  Some of the movies we've picked were not marketed as Satire.  We chose them because the underlying message of the movie remains a satirical commentary on the subject or situation covered.

Few films have gone on to impact American Culture like the original MASH.   In 1970 we first met the characters of the 4077 in a biting commentary on the Vietnam War disguised as the Korean War in the film.  The true genius of MASH is how Altman managed to take death, terror, blood and guts and turn it into a humorous dramatic masterpiece that gives life to the anxieties of running a field hospital and depth to the people whom struggle with mortality day to day.  MASH is really a testament to strength people have when faced with adversity and how we cope with the unthinkable.  TOP

Homer's Odyssey is the inspiration for this hilarious film about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi backed up by an infectious soundtrack of backwoods bluegrass music and a cappella performances.  Sexy, funny and a twisted glimpse at the redneck nature and know-it-alls, O' Brother Where Art Thou is the perfect date movie and a tremendous opportunity to laugh the night away. TOP

When this film came out in 1984, we were in high school and too young to go see it so the first time we saw it was in 1987.  For the pre-rap kids who grew up on Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Foreigner and the then infant MTV, This is Spinal Tap remains the rockumentary that encapsulates the absurdity of teen obsession with bands, their lifestyle and the demigod status teens attribute to musicians.  Much of this movie is adlibbed, with a real twist of irony: the band actually became quite popular in the LA club scene!  Like the Monkey's: Monkey see, Monkey do?  Is the film art imitating reality or reality imitating art?  You decide.  This is Spinal Tap remains a favorite with men and a benchmark in satirical realism! TOP

This is the story of a kidnapping gone terribly wrong and the pure encapsulation of dark comedy dripping with satire!  The characters in Fargo epitomize the word character with special recognition for Frances McDormand's Oscar® winning performance as a pregnant police officer investigating the for-hire kidnapping and murder of a down-on-his-luck hapless car sales manager's wife.  This is the first movie that really showed us what William H Macy is made of, as it left audiences craving more of the quirky humor and accents of the upper Midwest.  Even those from the cheese belt and badlands found it realistic enough to laugh at themselves!  Yah, sure, you betcha!  You'll love this movie. TOP

This is one of those films you either love or hate.  Here's the premise: We've all been there.  A goal is in sight and you keep plugging away to get to it and just when you are about to get to it, the rules change and you have to start over, and over and over again!  Catch-22 is slang for "Damned if you do and Damned if you don't", basically a no-win situation.  For anyone who has served in the military or been accosted by the great bureaucracy of the Federal Government, Catch-22 seethes with irony.  Set during WWII it covers a bomber pilot's quest to run enough missions to finally be discharged, only the government keeps changing the rules.  Many of the performances are phenomenal.  One tip, turn on Close Captioning.  Many of the jokes are so quick you'll miss them without the subtitles! TOP

Prior to January 2003, we thought this film was rather funny as it takes issue with the Clinton presidency, the Monica incident and the bombing of an Aspirin factory.  Then we watched the plot play out, only rather than attacking some Soviet Block country enmeshed in civil war, to our horror we saw step-by-step the orchestration of Wag the Dog, even down to the song which hit number one on the Country charts, play out in our rush to smash Iraq.  Only this time, there is no sexual scandal.  Cross reference today's reality where the current  cover-up begins in 1996 with our Vice President's involvement with an elite 28 member team called JINSA and its plan for global regime changes using US forces beginning with Iraq and ending with China. Never heard of JINSA?  Our point exactly.  You'll have to read international press like the BBC to find out what is happening in the US!

Like in the movie, rather than investigate and question the war, blindly the American public watches carefully orchestrated news footage of falling statues and screaming crowds planned to fall within camera shot.  Like in the movie, the news media plays straight into the government's PR requirements and works hand-in-hand with the government to sell its war and deflect American attention from the economy and real issues at hand. 

Yet turning the mirror on reality is what makes great satire as its absurdity is bought hook, line and sinker by the masses despite our knowing better.  Wag the Dog captures this and reminds us, especially today to question what we're fed and asked to believe.  This film is captivatingly funny and ominously sobering at the same time. TOP

Considered by many experts one of the best comedy movies ever made, Airplane takes a satirical look at Hollywood blockbusters and classics while jabbing fun at the disaster movies so prevalent in the mid-1970's.  This film is full of one-liners and catchy sight gags, (the airplane fin weaving through the clouds to the "Jaws" theme is a stand out!) interspersed with tongue and cheek commentary on pop-culture at the time.  Though the spoof genre was established by the Pink Panther series and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Airplane made it a multi-million dollar industry. And still, though nearly 1/4 century old, it is timeless.  Airplane watches today as well as it did in the early eighties and still socks you with a belly laugh that lasts the whole night through. TOP

How can something so beautiful be so wicked?  Most of us having graduated from high school have asked ourselves the same question.  It seems in each class there is a pack of rich, beautiful, narcissistic witches roaming the halls that make everyone else's life miserable.  But, take heart.  Heathers is an black comedy about just that, only in this case, the witches get what is coming to them!  Heathers refers to the in-crowd, all of whom happen to be named Heather except Veronica played by Winona Ryder.  Beautiful and spiteful, these girls rule the school and begin a trend of suicides for amusement by taunting their classmates.  Yet in this pre-Columbine world, a lone male student with serious psychological issues and dark ways emerges and works to convince Veronica that the ultimate stunt is to plant a bomb in the school and blow up the entire class in one mass suicide.  Veronica's not buying it.

This is a delicious, wickedly funny look at high school and the perversion of teen angst. Perfect viewing prior to your 10-year High School reunion, though not necessary for the twenty year.  Fortunately for society,  even the witches grow up by then!

TOP