Every week we look around and try to come up with ideas for Top 7 lists at The Scorecard Review. Some are easy to think of like TOP 7 Superhero Sequel Seconds as a nod to Iron Man 2. Other times, we have to dig a little.
With MacGruber opening up on Friday, May 21 and me being a bit of a "Saturday Night Live" geek, I figured there couldn't be a better time to whip up a "TOP 7 SNL Movies of All Time."
Complete MacGruber coverage including reviews and interviews
Now, when I say "bit" of a SNL geek. What I mean to say is, I haven't missed an episode in probably a decade. If I had to place a bet on the matter, I would say the over/under on episodes missed in the last 12 years would be three. And I would take the under. Don't get me wrong, I go out on Saturday night. But I was setting up the VCR long before the DVR. There was even a time when I was a kid when Nick at Night finally started running old episodes. They began with a marathon. So I did what any obsessed boy would do ... I woke up every four hours to change video tapes, and keep recording. This is also when I learned of names like Belushi, Aykroyd and Chase. You see, I started watching SNL when Eddie Murphy was on. The first sketch I remember was "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood." So while I was at first really bummed there was no Jon Lovitz or Dana Carvey in my recording efforts, I quickly realized the genius of the original cast. So, that's what I mean by "bit" of an SNL geek.
Also, if you haven't already, make sure to read -- Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests
Now, I wanted to make sure I wasn't forgetting any films, so I did some deep research (went to Wikipedia). Here's what they have ...
Film |
Release
date |
Budget |
Gross |
Rotten Tomatoes
rating |
Metacritic
rating |
IMDb
rating |
MPAA rating |
Distributor |
| All You Need Is Cash | 1978 | 90% (fresh) | 7.3 | |||||
| The Blues Brothers | 1980 | $27 million | $57,229,890 | 84% (fresh) | - | 7.9 | R | Universal |
| Wayne's World | 1992 | $20 million | $121,697,323 | 83% | 53 | 6.9 | PG-13 | Paramount |
| Coneheads | 1993 | Unknown | $21,274,717 | 27% | - | 5.0 | PG | Paramount |
| Wayne's World 2 | 1993 | $40 million | $48,197,805 | 59% | - | 5.8 | PG-13 | Paramount |
| It's Pat | 1994 | Unknown | $60,822 | 0% | - | 2.4 | PG-13 | Buena Vista |
| Stuart Saves His Family | 1995 | $15 million | $912,082 | 29% | - | 5.0 | PG-13 | Paramount |
| A Night at the Roxbury | 1998 | $17 million | $30,331,165 | 10% | 26 | 5.7 | PG-13 | Paramount |
| Blues Brothers 2000 | 1998 | $28 million | $14,051,384 | 45% | - | 4.4 | PG-13 | Universal |
| Office Space | 1999 | $10 million | $10,827,810 | 80% | 68 | 7.9 | R | 20th Century Fox |
| Superstar | 1999 | $14 million | $34,636,478 | 33% | 42 | 4.5 | PG-13 | Paramount |
| The Ladies Man | 2000 | $24 million | $13,616,610 | 11% | 22 | 4.7 | R | Paramount |
| MacGruber | 2010 | $10 million | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.0 | R | Universal |
We need to fix some things on this list. First off, "All You Need is Cash" aka "The Rutles" is a TV movie and tossed off the list. Sequels don't count, because they aren't created from a sketch, they're created from the original film. Make sense? So, Blues Brothers 2000 doesn't have a chance, for so many reasons we can't get into it now.
Also, Office Space is an extreme stretch, and no one connects the animated short by Mike Judge with SNL. No one.
Now, normally when we do a TOP 7, we don't include the film that we're about to review. So in this case, MacGruber wouldn't qualify.
So then, here's what we are left with ...
Blues Brothers Wayne's World Coneheads It's Pat Stuart Saves His Family Night at the Roxbury Superstar Ladies Man
Yes, that is eight movies. So, that seems like the right amount for a TOP 7, right? Well, I like to dive back into these films and rewatch. After all, maybe It's Pat wasn't bad enough to not even make $100,000 at the box office. Well, It's Pat and Stuart Saves His Family aren't even available. Can't get them. Lorne Michaels looks to be doing his best to bury those flicks.
Also, I remember all the others on that list, and they are all mediocre at best. Will Ferrell didn't have "it" yet with Superstar or Roxbury. So, the idea of rewatching some of these films ... sigh. It wasn't exciting. Plus, how can they not even be available on Instant Netflix?
Distance really seems to be the key. Look how many years it was between Blues Brothers and Wayne's World. Clearly, they weren't trying to grab a dollar on anything. Then, look at the gap between Ladies Man and MacGruber.
So, what would the top of the list look like? That I can tell you.
1. Blues Brothers 2. Wayne's World 3. MacGruber 4 ... everything else
What's sad is, if the rumors are true, we've missed out on two potentially hilarious sketches-turned-movies. Hans and Franz go to Hollywood and Sprokects with Mike Myers, Jack Black and David Hasselhoff.
Most importantly, there is a distant margin between MacGruber and all the others. MacGruber belongs in the same conversation as Blues Brothers and Wayne's World. We'll see if the masses agree.