Courtesy of Fox Searchlight
For some reason, it’s always the most random and bizarre movies that develop cult followings, particularly among teens and college students. For the current generation, randomness seems to have become the prevailing sense of humor. The following four films embody this sense of whimsy with their eminent quotability, nonstop gags and bold refusal to make any sense whatsoever. If you’re looking to watch them, they are likely playing at a dorm room near you.
Napoleon Dynamite
| Domestic gross — $44.5 million Production budget — $400,000 Released date — June 11, 2004 | A sassy nerd at a high school in Idaho farm country befriends a Mexican immigrant and helps him become class president in this, the king of all random comedies. |
Marquis Milton, a Family Video employee, says the movie was “genius.” Despite the fact that it had no curse words or racy situations, it was extremely funny. “It defied all logic of movie-making,” says Michael “Zesty” Vaughn, an integrated language arts major. | “I see you’re drinking 1 percent. Is that ’cause you think you’re fat? ’Cause you’re not. You could be drinking whole if you wanted to.” |
Super Troopers
| Domestic gross — $18.5 million Est. marketing costs — $11 million Release date — Feb. 15, 2002 | A satirical, slapstick comedy taking the viewer inside the topsy-turvy world of the worst state troopers ever. | “The previews were so bad I didn’t want to see it in the theater, but when I saw it at home I watched it 20 times,” says Julia Steinberg, a junior communication studies major. | “I don’t want a large Farva. I want a goddamn liter of cola.” |
Office Space
| Domestic gross — $10.8 million Production budget — $10 million Release date — Feb. 19, 1999 | A box-office flop after its initial release, this film has developed a staggering following thanks to its realistic portrayal of the soul-eating boredom that comes with corporate employment. |
Nick Anderson, a senior organizational communications major, says his favorite part of Office Space is when the printer goes amuck and Michael Bolton yells at it. “Plus, that happened to me in real life, the PC Loadletter thing,” he says. | “Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...” |
Wet Hot American Summer
| Domestic gross — $295,206 Release date — July 27, 2001 Widest release — 12 theaters | It may be a semi-obscure parody of 1980s summer camp flicks that is mostly known because of repeated, heavily censored showings on Comedy Central, but students like Dave Jackowski, a senior architecture major, love it. | “My favorite part is the secret pizza party,” Jackowski says of the star-studded film, featuring actors such as Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Chris Meloni, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black and Amy Poehler. | “Well, I hope it’s not jumbo shrimp because I’m allergic to oxymorons!” |
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