Tropic Thunder (2008)
The Funny Death: The plan of director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) to sh🌱oot his latest movie guerrilla-style goes awry when he discovers the hard way that his chosen location is a landmine-filled war zone.
If It Had Been Played Straight: The film would be a standard-issue survivalist war 🍷flick, ie the genre that Ben Stiller's comedy is taking the piss out of.
Deadly Friend (1986)
The Funny Death: Samantha (Kristy Sﷺwanson), a deadꦦ girl brought back to life using experimental artificial intelligence that gives her super-strength, takes revenge on local harridan Elvira (Anne Ramsey) by throwing a basketball at her head at turbo-charged speed.
If It Had Been Played Straight: Had the moment ended with Elvira's head violently exploding off her shoulders, it would have passed. What tips 🎀the scene into comedic genius is that Elvira's twitching corpse🐠 continues to career around the room like a headless chicken.
The Godfather Part 3 (1990)
The Funny Death: Mary Corleone (Sofia Coppola) takes a bullet fo🧜r reformed mob boss Michael (Al Pacino). It's deeply tragic… until Coppola tries to act. "Dad?" she whimpers, treating being 🍒fatally shot with the same tone of teenage disappointment as if she'd had her trust fund cut off.
If It Had Been Played Straight: O🍒h, it was meant to be. It's quite possible that this 🧸was the moment Coppola, junior discovered her knack for ironically detached humour.
Commando (1985)
The Funny Death: John Matrix (Arnold 🍸Schwarzenegger) gets the upper hand over the villainous Bennett (Vꦑernon Wells) by impaling him on a steam pipe. Arnie's parting shot: "Let off some steam!
If It Had Been Played Straight: Like virtu🐼al🌄ly every other Arnie action flick, we'd have been spared the flippant one-liner.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
The Funny Deaths: Ken Pile (Michael Palin) has one job - to kill elderly witness Mrs Coady (Patricia Hayes). Yet in a series of bungled hits he succeeds only in wiping out her prized Yorkshire Terriers... until the stress takes its toll and gives t🥂he lady a heart attack.
If It Had Been Played Straight: No rigmarole, just a clean 🅺hit first time. Job done.
Out Of Sight (1998)
The Funny Death: Gangster's henchman White Boy Bob (Keith Loneker) has captured Jack Foley (Geo🐻rge Clooney) but the fat-ass is so clumsy he slips on the step and blows his brains out.
If It Had Been Played Straight: Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) would arrive in time to take White Boy💯 Bob out herself.
Street Trash (1987)
The Funny Death: A hapless hobo drinks a bottle of toxic wine still sitting on the toilet༺, and MELTS into the 𒅌U-bend.
If It Had Been Played Straight: The director would lose the sight gag of a severed arm still clutching the chain, or the Grand Guignol shot of the mutated face bu🌳bbling back out of the loo.
Gremlins (1984)
The Funny Death: Lynn Peltzer (Frances Lee McCain) discovers her home has been invaded by Gremlins, so she fights💙 back the way a good housewife should - with kitchen appliances, pureeing one in a blender and letting another explode in the microwave.
If It Had Been Played Straight: A lot of people worried that kids might not get the joke, with Roger Ebert observing, "as for the microwave scene, I had a queasy feeling that before lo🌃ng we'd be reading newspaper stories about kids who went home and tried the same thing with the family cat."
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
The Funny Death: Evil henchman Thunder (Carter Wong) is so aghast at the death of his master that he commits sui🐻cide… by inflating into a human balloon until his innards burst out.
If It Had Been Played Straight: What's wrong with seppuku?
The Princess Bride (1987)
The Funny Death: The mysterious 🦋man in black challenges criminal Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) to a ba☂ttle of wits - guess which of two chalices is poisoned. The catch: "they were both poisoned. I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder."
If It Had Been Played Straight: Vizzini's ceaseless chatter as he tries to figure things out wouldꦆ be replaced with intense, Leone-style close💟-ups of furrowed brows and fidgety eyes.
